President Joe Biden faced a wave of criticism on Monday after the White House called a “lid” before noon as Israel goes to war with Hamas in Gaza.
Francesca Chambers, a reporter with USA TODAY, shared the news in a press pool report. “The White House has called a lid for the day, before the pool call time. We will not be seeing the president today,” she said.
A lid is generally called when the pool of reporters tasked with covering the president is “dismissed for the day with an assurance the President isn’t going anywhere or doing anything in public,” according to the White House Correspondents’ Association.
The schedule is subject to change and a lid does not mean Biden will be inactive for the rest of the day. And Biden has issued statements in support of Israel and delivered remarks on the conflict over the weekend. Still, a torrent of condemnation followed on social media, with critics arguing that Biden going AWOL on the public stage, even temporarily, was a bad move.
“Weakest president in US history,” said Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), who is running for U.S. Senate. “Disgraceful,” added the X account for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“Biden has ‘called a lid’ for the rest of the day, meaning no public or press events. This is a disgusting disgrace. And, yet again, our enemies around the world take notice,” said conservative commentator Mark Levin.
“You’ve got to be s****ing me?!? It’s Monday at noon. Our greatest ally in the Middle East is at war, women and children are being slaughtered and raped in the streets, and our imbecile president is checking out before lunch?” said Donald Trump Jr.
Others took note of the timing, as U.S. officials had just shared that nine Americans were killed in the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas militants over the weekend, and how multiple accounts associated with the State Department have deleted posts containing talk favoring a ceasefire. In addition, dozens of people are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas, which has threatened to execute the prisoners in response to Israeli airstrikes.
One hour after Biden called a lid, Hamas is threatening to execute prisoners on live TV
They reportedly have multiple American hostages pic.twitter.com/EzHEmOLcmx
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) October 9, 2023
“Nine Americans are dead, an unknown number are missing or held hostage, yet President Biden is nowhere to be seen and has nothing to say. He’s totally overmatched by events and paralyzed in a crisis, partly because his own foolish appeasement of Iran fueled a campaign of terror,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), alluding to how Hamas is tied to Iran.
“Biden calls a lid before noon. No one in the admin can speak to the number of American hostages. State Dept. deleting tweets. What a terrifying embarrassment,” said radio show host and former NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.
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“The Commander-in-Chief called a lid before noon and the secretary of state is deleting patently ill-advised tweets that already had nearly 1 million views,” said The Messenger columnist Joe Concha. “The incompetence and apathy of our leadership should infuriate every American regardless of political stripe.”
The White House sought to quell the firestorm with a response to a post to X from Fox News anchor John Roberts, who said, “With war raging in Israel, the @WhiteHouse called a lid for @JoeBiden at 11:46am.”
Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden, said, “For those unfamiliar, a ‘lid’ is just a courtesy announcement to reporters that they should not expect public events. A lid does *not* mean the President has stopped working, as is implied in the *Fox* tweet below.”
Bates also said that Biden is “working to support Israel all day,” including meetings with top advisers, directing aides to coordinate with Israel and regional partners, and plans for the president to speak with allies. The dispatch said the White House would “have more to share soon.”
Biden released a lengthy statement later in the day announcing that the number of Americans believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack on Israel had risen to 11 and said he directed his team to work with Israel on the hostage situation. He expressed support for Israel and said the American people “are unwavering in our resolve to oppose terrorism in all forms.” Biden and several European leaders also released a joint statement on Israel.
In addition, the White House announced in the evening that Biden had been interviewed as part of a special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents.